PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday accepted a writ petition filed by a former director general of Fata Disaster Management Authority (FDMA), Arshid Khan, challenging the filing of two separate references against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in almost identical cases.

The bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Ms Musarrat Hillali ordered that the petitioner should be tried in the earlier reference and the charges against him in the second reference should be included in the first one by submitting supplementary charge sheet.

The petitioner, who was serving as additional secretary home at the time of his arrest, was arrested in April 2015 on charges of misappropriating millions of rupees on account of payment of compensation for damaged properties to conflict affected people in Mohmand Agency. While he was in judicial custody, NAB again sought his physical custody in a case of misappropriation of funds meant for the conflict affected people of Bajaur Agency.

The petitioner’s counsel Barrister Waqar Ahmad argued that both the offences mentioned by the NAB were of identical nature. He added that the bureau had got physical custody of the petitioner in both the cases despite the fact that those were identical cases.

Meanwhile, a bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Ms Irshad Qaiser dismissed bail petition of an accused, Kashif Zaib, arrested by the NAB on charges of looting public at large on pretext of investing their hard earn money in Islamic mode of investment.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2015